Monday, March 12, 2012

Free STEM Club Ideas

Free STEM Club Ideas, projects, and kits (Science Technology Engineering and Math )

Free Kits and Projects from SAE International's A World In Motion®

http://www.awim.org/

SAE International's A World In Motion® (AWIM) is a teacher-administered, industry volunteer-assisted program that brings science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to life in the classroom for students in Kindergarten through Grade 12. Benchmarked to the national standards, AWIM incorporates the laws of physics, motion, flight and electronics into age-appropriate hands on activities that reinforce classroom STEM curriculum.

Elementary Activities (Grades 4-6)

Skimmer

Students construct paper sailboats and test the effect of different sail
shapes, sizes, and construction methods to meet specific performance criteria.
Friction, forces, the effect of surface area and design are some of the physical
phenomena students encounter in this challenge.

JetToy

Students make balloon-powered toy cars that meet specific
performance criteria like; travels far, carries weight, or goes fast.
Jet propulsion, friction, air resistance and design are the core scientific
concepts students explore in this challenge.

Gravity Cruiser

Student teams design and construct a vehicle that is powered
by gravity. A weighted lever connected to an axle by string rotates on its fulcrum;
as the weight descends it causes the axle attached to the string to rotate,
propelling the cruiser forward. Concepts explored include potential and
kinetic energy, friction, inertia, momentum, diameter, circumference,
measurement, graphing, and constructing a prototype.

Electricity & Electronics
The Electricity & Electronics - Elementary activities provide teachers with
activities that focus on principles of electronics by providing teachers with
hands-on experiments involving static electricity, batteries and capacitors.

Middle School Activities (Grades 6-8)

Gravity Cruiser

Student teams design and construct a vehicle that is powered
by gravity. A weighted lever connected to an axle by string rotates on its
fulcrum; as the weight descends it causes the axle attached to the string to
rotate, propelling the cruiser forward. Concepts explored include potential
and kinetic energy, friction, inertia, momentum, diameter, circumference,
measurement, graphing, and constructing a prototype.
Motorized Toy Car

Students develop new designs for electric gear driven toys.
The students are involved in writing proposals, drawing sketches, and working
with models to develop a plan to meet a specific set of design requirements.
Force and friction, simple machines, levers and gears, torque and design are
the core scientific concepts covered in this challenge.
Glider

Students explore the relationship between force and
motion and the effects of weight and lift on a glider. Students learn the
relationships between data analysis and variable manipulations, and the
importance of understanding consumer demands. The glider activity
culminates in a book-signing event where each design team presents
its prototype and the class presents its manuscripts to Mobility Press
"representatives" and members of the local community.
Fuel Cell

Using a PEM Fuel Cell as the primary power source,
student teams design, build, and test prototype vehicles which they must then
present to an audience. The AWIM Fuel Cells Challenge requires students
to explore physical science concepts such as force, friction and energy
transformations as well as environmental concepts such as green design,
and incorporates mathematics concepts as student teams collect, analyze
and display data.
Electricity & Electronics
The Electricity & Electronics - Middle School activities provide teachers
with activities that guide student teams through experiments involving series
& parallel circuits, magnetism and an introduction to electronics.

Call The ISS with a HAM Radio

NASAs International Space Station HAM Radio Info

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-on-the-international-space-station

Science From Trash

Arvind Gupta is an Indian toy inventor and populariser of free science toys and ideas made from common www.arvindguptatoys.com/toys/reactance.html

Arvind Gupta participated in the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme (HSTP) in Madhya Pradesh in 1978. While he was there he developed his idea of creating simple toys and educational experiments using locally available materials as well as items usually thrown as trash. These simple toys, he found, fascinated children and Gupta went on to make these as the hallmark of his movement of popularising science. His first book, "Matchstick Models and other Science Experiments" was reprinted in 12 languages. Gupta's website holds instructions, including short video clips on YouTube, in a number of languages, for making hundreds of improvised toys, which he makes available freely without copyright restrictions Gupta draws inspiration from a number of people, including Gautama Buddha, George Washington Carver and his mother

trash .

The Kids love This One! Not Free but cheep for a STEM Club program.